Town Considering 'Do Not Knock' List for Solicitors

After ongoing complaints from residents about door-to-door solicitors visiting homes at night, the township is moving forward with a ban on solicitation during the evening hours.

At Tuesday's Township Council meeting, an ordinance was discussed that would prohibit vendors and solicitors from knocking on doors passed 7 p.m. or dusk, whichever comes first.

"If your wife is home alone and somebody comes knocking on the door at 9 or 10 o'clock at night, that can be frightening," said Mayor Frank Gambatese. "(The new restrictions) would be a good thing for the town."

Councilman Joseph Camarota also put forward an idea for the township to create a "do not knock" registry that would prohibit vendors from visiting any address on the list.

Township attorney Don Sears said there are a number of towns throughout the state that have created a registry for residents who do not wish to have solicitors visit their homes. When a person registers with the township to conduct door-to-door solicitation, they would then be given a list of addresses where they would not be allowed to visit.

Still of issue would be whether the "do not knock" list would apply to door-to-door political campaigning, but either way Camarota said the registry would be a positive for residents.

"I'd still like people to be able to sign up for no solicitors," he said.